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A couple of people in this forum have had it, including me. Ann took the treatment and was cured. I passed it via my own immune response.

For what its worth, i did do a little bit of research on herbs for liver cleanse. As soon as I was diagnosed I started drinking dandelion tea, two different kinds. Every day for two months. One made from the root, and one from the leaves. Its a nice grassy taste, the root is better than the leaves, though, in my opinion. I ordered it in bulk online, organic, it wasn't expensive. Also, milk thistle extract, as pills.

Im sure it was the luck of the draw that I fought down the virus, but I dunno, I think the flushing with the dandelion did help.

As for treatment, there is one already that works pretty well. But its no picnic for many. But my infectious disease doc said an even better one is hitting the market sometime later this year 2013 or next year.

So don't despair! Talk to you doctor and ask for all the optimistic viewpoints, so you don't worry unnecessarily.

Have you been HIV+ for awhile? My doc was able to figure out my HEP C infection date pretty closely by interviewing me AND by asking the labs to look for it in my old blood draws. I don't know if this is just in Switzerland that they keep old blood. I was pretty surprised by that, but the Swiss are strange, master record keepers... One routine HIV blood panel, it wasn't there, and the next, it was. And then we figured out when I felt quite sick for a few weeks, cramps and aches and pains. Evidently, NOTICING you have it when you first get infected is usually a good sign, as it indicates an active immune response, which is what you want. At least, thats the info given to me by my ID doc.

Nobody wants Hep C just like nobody wants HIV. But on the flip side, at least you know, because you can change your intake and maybe take the treatment. People go years, decades, without knowing, and their livers are destroyed, all the time feeling relatively healthy. So, at least now you know and can take measures to avoid that.

« Last Edit: May 11, 2013, 08:51:42 PM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

Thanks! Your response really made me smile. Now with this treatment, will I still be able to work? My last HepC test was negative in January. I just entered a relationship so I went to get another STD screening and it came back positive a few days ago.

Hi D-boy, these are not a good news but try to take it easy... My father has HEP C from 1981 and he is still very well, the good news is that it exists some treatments, the bad one is that they don´t always work and they can be difficult to deal with. An uncle also had it in the beginning of the 2000´ and be cured after a 6 months treatment and have now a complete normal life. I don´t know about co-infection with HIV, but some people in this forum have dealed with both and be cured in regard to HEP C... More than anything else, your alimentation, lifestyle and applying what your doc tells you are really important. I send you my best wishes...

As others have said, Milk Thistle works. Hell I even take it after a night of drinking or any heavy meds being broken down in my liver.

My mother had Hep C and beat it the 2nd go around with meds. It use to be a shot a weak but now it's spread out so it's easier to handle. Also I had a friend who once had an AIDS diagnosis and sarcoma, just recently beat out Hep C, tho his regime lasted a year.

My Hep C viral load came back and it was "39,166". Which I take is very low. My CD4 is 825 but my percentage dropped from 27% to 24%. My HIV is still UD with levels less than <20. My ALT levels came back at 80 which is a little above the norm of 50.

I go in for my liver ultra sound next week. So far, so good. Looks like treatment will knock this the hell out of me with no problem. My doctor states she may want me to wait for a year until better lines of treatments are released, but I rather deal the the horrible side effects before this thing does any harm.

I go in for my liver ultra sound next week. So far, so good. Looks like treatment will knock this the hell out of me with no problem. My doctor states she may want me to wait for a year until better lines of treatments are released, but I rather deal the the horrible side effects before this thing does any harm.

I saw my ID doctor again this week. He mentioned again that the FDA is soon to approve a MUCH BETTER treatment for Hep C. You would probably do well to take it slow and listen to your doctor.

My doc said the same thing when my Hep C was diagnosed. If I had remained with a low virology he was recommending to wait until the end of 2013 to visit the question of treatment. Who knows, you might well kick it before then! The low virology might mean you are not sustaining much damage, at the moment. You really don't want more drugs than necessary.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I saw my ID doctor again this week. He mentioned again that the FDA is soon to approve a MUCH BETTER treatment for Hep C. You would probably do well to take it slow and listen to your doctor.

My doc said the same thing when my Hep C was diagnosed. If I had remained with a low virology he was recommending to wait until the end of 2013 to visit the question of treatment. Who knows, you might well kick it before then! The low virology might mean you are not sustaining much damage, at the moment. You really don't want more drugs than necessary.

Thank you so much for the advice. So there's actually suppose to be a new drug released at the end of this year? If so, what's the name of the drug?

AbbVie with Aviator, and Gilead with Sofosbuvir, both have drugs in the pipeline. I think there might even be others! I'm not following it closely because I tend to take my Drs wisdom on these matters. I think you should quiz your doctor. As I said, she probably has at least two good reasons for telling you to wait. 1) You might kick it. 2) The new drugs are great and not as heavy as the existing treatment. Voila.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

AbbVie with Aviator, and Gilead with Sofosbuvir, both have drugs in the pipeline. I think there might even be others! I'm not following it closely because I tend to take my Drs wisdom on these matters. I think you should quiz your doctor. As I said, she probably has at least two good reasons for telling you to wait. 1) You might kick it. 2) The new drugs are great and not as heavy as the existing treatment. Voila.

Thanks. Just did some research on both. Wow. So it looks like I'll be fine after all!

Damn it, I can't wait to drink wine and celebrate once all of this shit is done and over with.

Came back from my liver ultrasound this morning. Everything looked great (normal).

Just waiting for my doctor to respond and I hope she lets me start treatment soon. I really don't want to wait for the new meds. I need this thing out of my body SOON!

I suggest you slow down and do some research into current hcv treatments before you go any further.

It's been ten years since I was treated for hep C and there are new treatments, some already approved and in use, and some close to being approved, which not only increase the rate of successful treatment, but the newest ones won't be using some of the older meds that caused the treatment to be the closest to hell on earth I've ever experienced. The treatment course is also shorter with these new meds. (I treated for 52 weeks, some of these newer treatments have cut that time down to twelve weeks.)

If you can avoid the current treatments that include Interferon and Ribavirin, you should. Hep C progresses MUCH slower than hiv, so there really isn't the great need for urgency that you seem to be experiencing. I was informed the other day that some doctors are even refusing to treat patients like you (where there is no real liver damage and a new infection) until these newer drugs are in use.

You will find a lot more information on the new treatments over at our sister site, Hepmag.com

There are also forums associated with our sister site using the same format as here. You will, however, have to also register for an account on those forums. Your login for here won't work there, but you can use the same username and email address if you wish.

Hang in there and make sure you find a doctor who is up-to-date on the new treatments. Make sure he or she is also experienced in treating hiv/hcv coinfected patients.

I can tell you with absolute certainty if I were newly diagnosed with hep C today, but knew what living hell the older hep C treatments were, I would most definitely wait the year or so for the new treatments.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Thanks Ann! Everything you said here was correct. I spoke with my current doctor and she said the same thing. As long as I stay away from alcohol, my Hep C will progress much slowly than my HIV (which is actually under control due to me switching to Complera). She wants me to wait for one new drug which is showing a promising result for those of my genotype and who are co-infected with HIV. She believes it will be approved within the next year or. She assured me that I'll be fine and that I will have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Hi Guys, I have a question -- is treatment really bad? I've looked at some youtube videos and read some online comments. Some people say its not good, but they can still manage to go to work and maintain their normal life. Others have said they weren't able to work and could barely walk.

please wait if you can, treatment with ribavirin and interferon can be horrible.There will be groundbreaking new 1 pill HCV options within some years with a cure rate of more than 90 percent from Gilead and GSK. Interferon therapies can be a horrortrip as I heard. The new therapies will be much better, it won't take a long time until they are approved.But better read the HepC forums as Ann recommended, they know it better than me.

Hi Guys, I have a question -- is treatment really bad? I've looked at some youtube videos and read some online comments. Some people say its not good, but they can still manage to go to work and maintain their normal life. Others have said they weren't able to work and could barely walk.

Can someone share to me their experiences with treatment? Thanks.

Is there some reason you can't trust your doctor, Ann, information being given to you by others. My doc, a professor and ID specialist of some renown in Geneva, gave me the same line. Wait until the new treatments. Which I relayed to you as well, and which your own doctor has explained.

I can understand that the HIV diagnosis was a severe blow. And for the moment, its for life. I guess the carrot of a Hep C cure can easily seduce you into an impatience "to be done with" another nasty virus... But life is long and you need to take the long view of these things.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I recently tested pos for Aids CD4 54 VL 500,000 and HCV VL 5,000,000. I started the Stribilt a month ago and the Dr said that I need to start Interferon in Late June. She also told me to not take any herbal or vitamin at this time. I am attempting to maintain a positive attitude and reading these post do help with comparisons of success from others. My only concern is that my numbers seem to be extremely higher than others that I am reading their post...before my test I only felt less productive and had very little energy..since I started taking the meds...I sleep long hours interupted and seem to have little to know energy. This is only with the current meds. The interferon sounds like it may take a toll. Is there anyone that has been in this situation or close in numbers and have good results? I am a little nervous and am fighting depression of the stigma of both AIDS/HCV in the public eye!

I recently tested pos for Aids CD4 54 VL 500,000 and HCV VL 5,000,000. I started the Stribilt a month ago and the Dr said that I need to start Interferon in Late June. She also told me to not take any herbal or vitamin at this time. I am attempting to maintain a positive attitude and reading these post do help with comparisons of success from others. My only concern is that my numbers seem to be extremely higher than others that I am reading their post...before my test I only felt less productive and had very little energy..since I started taking the meds...I sleep long hours interupted and seem to have little to know energy. This is only with the current meds. The interferon sounds like it may take a toll. Is there anyone that has been in this situation or close in numbers and have good results? I am a little nervous and am fighting depression of the stigma of both AIDS/HCV in the public eye!

I think any meds will do that to you. I felt the same way when I started Atripla. I noticed when I changed my diet things took a turn for the better. However, Atripla would have me high as hell if I didn't go to bed immediately after. Before I changed my diet, it was extremely hard for me to get my day going on the morning. I didn't feel "bad", but my energy level was just in the pits.

I'm not sure if things are the same with Hep C treatment, but from what I read from others, it starts out weird/bad, and gets better once you've learned how to deal with the medications.